> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the-fy2020/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:25:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:25:24.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2020, 61% of the 160 people sentenced in federal court under §2B5.1, "Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States," received a sentence within the guideline range. That is higher than the 50% for all guidelines combined in that year. The median prison term w - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of ](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the/) › §2B5.1: FY2020 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2020, 61% of the 160 people sentenced in federal court under §2B5.1, "Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States," received a sentence within the guideline range. That is higher than the 50% for all guidelines combined in that year. The median prison term was 18 months. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 160 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## 61% Within the Guideline Range Range information existed for all 160 people. 98 (61%) were sentenced within the range. 39 (24%) were below it without a government request, and 19 (12%) were below it at the government's request. 4 (3%) were above it. The share within the range was 54% in fiscal year 2019 and 62% in fiscal year 2021\. Across all guidelines in 2020, it was 50%. Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 under §2B5.1, it was 57%. ## How Long Prison Terms Were 138 of 160 people (86%) received prison. 19 (12%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter received 30 months or more, and a quarter received 8.2 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served. ## Guilty Pleas and the 2 Trials 158 people (99%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 18 months after a guilty plea and 33.5 months after a trial. The trial figure covers 2 people, so it is too small for any comparison. 78% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement and 22% were straight pleas. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 160 people (0%). ## Restitution, Fines, and Supervised Release Restitution was ordered for 100 people (63%), and a fine for 6 (4%). 135 people (84%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. ## Criminal History 18% were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 27% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Reading the Count The Commission assigns every person to a primary guideline, meaning the guideline that set the offense level for the most serious count. October 1, 2019 started fiscal year 2020, and September 30, 2020 ended it. The 160 cases are in the Forgery/Counter/Copyright category. The data holds only convicted and sentenced people. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. ## The Years Before and After 2020 The 2019 group numbered 229 people with a median of 15 months. The 2021 group numbered 98 people with a median of 15 months. For fiscal years 2016 to 2025 together, 1,486 people were sentenced, 84% went to prison, the median was 18 months, and 99% pleaded guilty. Under all guidelines in 2020, 64,565 people were sentenced, and the median prison term was 18 months. The table gives each year. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 280 | 18 months | 97% | | 2017 | 238 | 15 months | 99% | | 2018 | 228 | 18 months | more than 99% | | 2019 | 229 | 15 months | more than 99% | | 2020 | 160 | 18 months | 99% | | 2021 | 98 | 15 months | 99% | | 2022 | 86 | 19.5 months | 99% | | 2023 | 67 | 20 months | 99% | | 2024 | 60 | 18 months | 97% | | 2025 | 40 | 22.5 months | 98% | ## What the Records Cannot Show They cannot show the facts of any case or why a sentence fell where it did. The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart, so only federal numbers are reported. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2020 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2B5.1 (160), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records. ### What to Keep in Mind **No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served. **Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial. **Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart. **Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually. **How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less. ## Related Analysis - [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the/) (overview) - [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the-fy2019/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [§2B5.1 Offenses Involving Counterfeit Bearer Obligations of the United States: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2b5-1-offenses-involving-counterfeit-bearer-obligations-of-the-fy2021/) (previous or next fiscal year) - [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/) - [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) **About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.